basketballpoetsociety's Character Battle
by Sylindara
Summary: My submissions for basketballpoetsociety on Tumblr's Character Battle. Mostly Izuki submissions, but also one each for Akashi, Riko, and Kiyoshi. Sorry Kiyoshi, for being the only person who submitted for you. Pairings: Aomine/Akashi, Kise/Izuki, Riko/Hyuuga/Izuki/Kiyoshi sedoretu.
1. Pun Guard

When Izuki was very young his sister told him a very funny basketball pun. That was his start on the path of becoming a basketball player.

Unfortunately, Hyuuga had made him promise to never tell that story again 'on account of how awful the pun was'. Hyuuga has no culture in his soul, but for the sake of their friendship Izuki does his best. He never told his sister though, because she still thinks well of the team not knowing that not a single one of them appreciate puns properly. They just can't get into the _zone_.

But then, that's why Izuki always does what he can to enlighten the rest of the team, to better help them to understand the greatness of puns and _brighten_ their life. Kuroko especially can really use some good puns to _ignite_ his existence.

It's not that Izuki isn't properly sympathetic to Kuroko's plight and his whole thing with the Generation of Miracles; but for Izuki – who turned to basketball to be able to communicate with his peers when puns could not cut it, they just didn't appreciate his _razor_ wit – Kuroko's problems of not being able to communicate with his ex-teammates through basketball isn't very relatable.

Still, Izuki will do his best to _assist_ Kuroko on their path to the Winter Cup, since they'll have to fight through the Generation of Miracles anyway. Playing basketball together to the top: that is the language of Seirin's basketball team. At least they all have that in common.

It doesn't matter, one day someone will understand the _big picture_ when it comes to the art of puns. Until then, there's always basketball.

* * *

_Hey Shun, listen to this one: basketball players may not be able to control their saliva but just look at that _dribble_ power._


	2. The most obvious sedoretu in the world

Sedoretu was created by Sci Fi author Ursula K. Le Guin and refers to a marriage concept that involves four people: usually a morning man and woman and an evening man and woman. It is taboo for one morning person to be in a non-platonic relationship with the other morning person, but expected for their relationships with the two evening people to be sexual. But for the purposes of this challenge it's fine to just think of it as an OT4 since it's such a short ficlet.

I would also like to thank Pixiv for opening my eyes to this OT4, because wow. And rereading the Seirin First Year flashback made me realise that it was kind of Izuki who brought Hyuuga, Riko and Kiyoshi together, gosh.

* * *

This was what they had promised their coach to show the depths of their determination: that they will all make a love confession if Seirin loses. Naked. In front of the whole school.

As time went on, and the First Years got used to life in Seirin's basketball club, they realised something: that the potential sedoretu between the Coach, the Captain, the Centre, and the Point Guard was completely obvious to just about everyone that wasn't the four of them.

"Does that mean they'll be confessing to _each other_, _naked_, if we lose?" Was what Fukuda brought up one day, during a break at practice while the First Years were gossiping about the one topic they never get tired of talking about – the utter obliviousness of their sempai when it came to their own love lives.

"Are you guys sure they're not together already? I mean, you Japanese people are so undemonstrative in the first place."

"Please shut up, Kagami-kun. Also, stop talking like you're not Japanese yourself."

"You know, I kind of want to see that," Furihata said, ignoring both the fight developing beside him and Kawahara's shocked "You want to see the sempai naked?" with ease. "I don't mean it in a weird way! Just that it would be kind of funny! You guys can stop looking at me like that you know…Hyuuga-sempai's is standing right behind me, isn't he."

"That's right," said Hyuuga, one hand falling heavily onto Furihata's shoulder. "If you brats have enough free time to natter about the love lives of your sempai, you have more than enough free time for 50 LAPS AROUND THE SCHOOL!"

Broken out of their petrified states, the First Years leapt for the doors, trailing terrified apologies behind them as they ran. All except for one.

"Just one question, Hyuuga-sempai. Between you and Kiyoshi-sempai, which one of you is the Morning wife?"

"Just shut up and run, Kuroko," Hyuuga snapped back, glaring holes into Kuroko's back as he leisurely followed the other First Years.

"Aren't you being a little harsh on them?" Turning around revealed Kiyoshi standing by Hyuuga's shoulder, that familiar smile on his face.

"You heard that, didn't you?" Hyuuga sighed. "This kind of thing needs to be nipped off at the bud. Before it gets any crazier."

"What's wrong with it? I wouldn't mind being in a sedoretu with you guys." Kiyoshi was still smiling that smile.

"I-you- DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME?!"

"Since it's basketball practice, don't you think we should be concentrating on _basketball_, you guys?"

"Coach, you-"

"Riko, your face is all red!"

"I think you guys should join the First Years in their laps, don't you?" Riko bit out, glaring at the two of them hotly.

Watching Hyuuga and Kiyoshi run off, Riko was uncomfortably aware of the looks the other Second Years were sending her. And the matching heavy blush that Izuki was sporting on the other side of the court.

"I- I wouldn't mind being in a four-man team-up with the three of you!"

Nigou's soft panting was unbearable loud in the resulting silence.

"I'll just go start on my laps, shall I?" Izuki sprinted out the door, face still as red as Riko's. Behind her, she could hear the others' giving in to their prurience.

"Was that supposed to be a pun?"

"It doesn't work very well when basketball is made up of a team of five people, huh."

"YOU GUYS JOIN THEM TOO," said Riko, unable to look at them in the face as they ran past her. Mitobe's hand landed gently on her shoulder as he did so, and Riko couldn't help but let a giddy smile reach her face as she jogged after everyone. It's okay, there's no one watching with her at their backs.


	3. The Strength of Iron

'Tesshin': from the kanji iron and heart. A strong core that won't weaken. Found in the proverb 'tesshinsekichou': iron heart and stone guts. It doesn't fit Kiyoshi at all.

He doesn't even know how it got started, or who first decided it was a suitable moniker for him. Obviously it comes from his first name, but does he really look so unwavering? That strength in his beliefs indicated in the name, does it really look like it fits him?

Something like that should better be given to people like Izuki and Mitobe, who went through the crucible of Junior High School Basketball under the shadow of the Generation of Miracles just as willing to play as they always have been; or someone like Koganei, an outsider who saw the consequences of the whole sorry mess but still wants to take his chances.

People like him, like Hyuuga, who have lost the ability to face basketball straightforwardly and without artifice, people like them have been broken by basketball and by the Generation of Miracles.

In the end, iron breaks too easily.


	4. 5 Basketball Clubs Izuki Never Joined

The creation of the club would have gone less smoothly without Izuki there to bring everyone together, but I do think it's still possible for it to happen. Though I'm not sure Seirin could have made it to InterHigh in their first year without a fourth veteran player…just go with it, I guess?

* * *

He got a text from Hyuuga just before the start of school. Hyuuga had quit basketball to become a delinquent - even dying his hair. The hair-dying was a surprise, the delinquency was just unbelievable, but the quitting was what Izuki had been expecting.

Under different circumstances, Izuki might have gone to the same school with Hyuuga; he knew how much Hyuuga loved basketball, how good he was at it - it wasn't his fault that the rest of the team, including Izuki, wasn't on his level. But the school Hyuuga went to didn't have a basketball team, and more than anything else Izuki didn't want to give up basketball.

* * *

Izuki's first year with Kaijou was a mixed bag. Kaijou was a strong school with an established basketball club, and Izuki had no illusions that he'd be able to play straight away when he was accepted into the school. But he wanted to try; he didn't want to give up, not like Hyuuga.

Landing a regular position in time for InterHigh - even if it was as a bench warmer - was like a confirmation; that he was doing the right thing, that basketball hadn't given up on him. The fact that one of the few times he made it onto the court he managed to cover for a sempai's miss pass and help solidify the team's victory sealed it.

Afterwards, he heard about the newcomer school who almost got through the InterHigh prelims on their first try with an all-freshmen team. He couldn't wait to face Hyuuga on the court next year, now that he was finally a starting player.

* * *

Shuutoku was a school with a long history, and looking back Izuki wondered if he'd applied to the school half hoping that it would kill his basketball dreams for him when he didn't have the strength to do it himself.

Watching Hyuuga and his new team lose against Shuutoku made him want to work harder, because if even Hyuuga was playing basketball again what right did he have to give up? But even though applying himself got him into a position where he was hopeful of being able to join the regulars in his second year, those hopes still ended up being dashed. Because his second year was the entrance of one of the Generation of Miracles, and 'Hawk Eye' Takao. Izuki knew he didn't have a chance against their combination, and with them a year younger than him the chances of him getting to play in high school was vanishingly small.

Maybe that was a sign, but Izuki couldn't stop himself from clinging to his position as bench warmer. No matter how bitter it felt to watch Seirin and their miracle freshmen combo go against Shuutoku's miracle freshmen combo, to watch Hyuuga and Iron Heart Kiyoshi of all people dominate the court, to watch them play basketball.

* * *

Imayoshi's successor when the third years finally retire, that was Izuki's role in Touou. But to be honest, he wasn't so sure he could fill Imayoshi's shoes.

Izuki admired him not just for his abilities as a Point Guard - though he knew he'd need to do his uttermost to fill in for Imayoshi when the time came - but also his interpersonal skills. Expecting Izuki to be able to influence Aomine even the little that Imayoshi managed was impossible. Even if he would have Momoi on his side.

Still, Izuki knew he was a regular because Coach Harasawa and Imayoshi believed in his abilities. Izuki didn't want to betray them. Especially when he was so looking forward to going up against Seirin again next year and paying them back for the loss.

* * *

When the team was made up of two meter giants and even the shortest starting member was still almost ten whole centimetres taller, looking ridiculous was par for the course. But Izuki knew his place on the team, he'd worked hard for it, and he wouldn't give it up for the world.

It was fun being on the Yousen team. Even Murasakibara, who seemed to have made it his mission to have as bad an attitude about basketball as possible, was a cute kouhai in his own way. Though Izuki would like to think that he didn't spoil the First Year as much as Himuro. He reminded Izuki of Hyuuga in a way - lying about his true feelings for basketball; but now Hyuuga was Captain of the Seirin basketball team as if he'd never dyed his hair and tried to become a delinquent.

It was just a pity that Murasakibara didn't show his true colours until almost the end of their match against Seirin. But this wasn't over. They would definitely win next time.

* * *

Applying for Rakuzan had been a joke, in a way; he had done his best on the entrance exams, but never expected to pass. But now here he was, a member of the Rakuzan basketball team with three Uncrowned Kings. Izuki was almost expecting it when he found out that Hyuuga didn't quit basketball after all but had created a new basketball team with one of the remaining Uncrowned Kings; neither of them could get away from basketball, not really.

The fact that one of the Generation of Miracles would be joining them wasn't a surprise, it was just a question of which one. That it was the ex-Captain was unobjectionable, but Izuki wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that the main reason he got to play was because Akashi was hardly ever in the starting line-up.

He had no problems with following Akashi despite the Captain being a year younger than him; but it was impossible to know what he was thinking, why the Coach let him sit out something as important as the InterHigh Final League, or even why he would go as far as to tell his ex-team mates to sit out as well. He did understand why they listened though. Akashi had charisma, a presence that made you listen to him.

Sitting on the bench and watching the final Winter Cup match between them and Seirin, Izuki believed just as much as everyone else that Rakuzan would win. Seirin had done amazingly well, and more than anyone Izuki knew Hyuuga's strength as a basketball player - on top of the prowess of Iron Heart Kiyoshi and Seirin's freshmen duo; but nevertheless, it was unthinkable that Akashi - that they - could lose.

* * *

Izuki quit basketball a week after he joined the Kirisaki Daiichi basketball team. To think he left Hyuuga for this.


	5. The furtherest apart and yet the closest

This is based on a short scribble comic I saw on Pixiv that gave me AoAka feelings. The title is based on something from the artist's notes.

* * *

The first one to leave might have been Kuroko, but none of the rest of them stayed either. With the tournament over, it was time for them to pass the club on to the kouhai anyway. There was no pressing reason for them to stay together anymore.

Still, locking up the clubhouse after practice – a task Akashi had yet to give up, every once in a while he would find Aomine hanging around, seemingly by coincidence. And then they would end up going in the same direction without a word between the two of them, still by coincidence. Until a suitable distance whereupon Aomine would get bored of the game and turn down a different street.

Akashi did not know for what purpose Aomine did this. To be more exact, he did not care to know. It did not matter; they were teammates only in name now, and soon enough they would be in different schools. The next time they meet on the court would be as enemies.

But walking next to the mute shadow beside him, Akashi remembered. A simpler time, when he did not have to tip his head back so much to look Aomine in the eyes. A time when he had actually felt wonder at seeing someone so blessed by something they loved wholeheartedly and without artifice. To think he had once marvelled at Aomine.

No, it wasn't a simpler time. Balancing the needs and wants of everyone with their skill level and enjoyment while still making sure they won? That was far more complicated than the victory that Teikou dictated required. Worrying about nothing except winning was simple, and the only thing they should have been concerned with in the first place.

Watching Aomine turn down a street that did not lead towards his house – just like every other time when he had arbitrarily decided he had had enough of walking together – Akashi wondered what Aomine got out of this. Did he too think of their earlier days? That one-sided conversation they had not long after they both became regulars, did he remember it?

"_I honestly don't know what to make of you. You're kind of mysterious, aren't you? But you're really good at basketball, so you can't be a bad guy!" _

"_I see…"_

It didn't matter what Aomine got out of it. If Akashi was simply the only one left that would neither pry into his circumstances nor push him away. It wasn't important.

_The only one who can defeat me is me. _

_Since I always win, I'm always right._

Come next year, one of these statements will become false.

_Wait for me, Daiki, just one more year until the stage I have set up for us is ready._


	6. In which there are eagles and hawks

This was the fic I had always wanted to write about Izuki and Takao as Hawkbrothers. And I finally got the chance by using this competition as an excuse. Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series was my childhood, I'm not even ashamed.

Regarding names: the kanji for Izuki's name mean - 'that one' 'moon' and 'sagacious', while the kanji for Takao's mean - 'high' 'tail' 'peace' and 'become'; so Moonsage and Calmtail. Washi is eagle in Japanese and Taka is hawk, I couldn't remember if there were any rules to naming bondbirds orz

Also, I have no idea if Velgarth even has an East Asia analogy, so everyone else is kind of vague.

* * *

Moonsage considered himself pretty normal by Tayledras standards. Sure, he was probably the only person to have gotten himself bonded to an eagle even though he couldn't lift poor Washi if his life depended on it, but he was just that _eagler_ for a bondbird. Come to think of it, the others didn't really understand his interest in puns either.

But all that aside, as a normal Tayledras, Moonsage didn't feel the need to leave the Vale and did not understand why he was told to go to Valdemar. He might be related to Darkwind who's the envoy, but the two of them had never been close; they were, in fact, _very distant_ cousins. Oh, that was a good one, he should remember that.

He wasn't like Calmtail – who'd never changed his name out of the sheer irony of it compared to his personality – who had curiosity in spades and was always trying to _dig up_ excitement. Case in point, wherever Calmtail was taking him now.

"Are we there yet? I'm gonna start practicing my puns if we're not there soon." Soaring above him, Washi screeched in amusement at the idea of Moonsage using puns as a threat when he'd let one loose without any provocation at all.

"We're here, we're here! Knock that off, I don't want you to give them a bad impression of us."

"My knees are _knocking_ already. Who's this 'them'? And what is _that_?"

_That_ was the tall pole at the other end of the paved clearing they found themselves in; it had a square piece of board set on top with a hoop protruding from it. Dangling from the hoop was a net that had its bottom cut out, presumably so that the ball a man in a healer's uniform had just tossed would be able to fall through the net easily and be caught by the tallest man Moonsage had seen in his life. He was wearing a blue uniform that Moonsage vaguely remembered was from some kind of engineering school in the Capital.

"Just keep your mouth shut," Calmtail muttered out of the corner of his mouth before speaking up, "hey, I managed to bring someone. This is Moonsage, this way we'll have enough numbers, right?"

Despite the urge to saying something – and there were so many puns he could have made – Moonsage behaved himself all the way through the explanation for the rules of the game. He'd seen the looks Calmtail had sent the man in the healer's garb, Moonsage wanted things to go smoothly for the two of them.

Which was why Moonsage waited all the way until the herald with glasses – who seemed to be the unofficial leader, or at least acted like one – finished speaking before opening his mouth, "what about my bondbird? Can he join in too?"

"If you want him to." Glasses guy shrugged. "Taka always joins in from above when Calmtail plays, so it would be fairer if we've got you on the other side with your bird to even the scales. My Companion acts as Centre, so it's not like we'd care."

Looking in the direction Glasses guy had pointed at with his thumb, Moonsage noted another tall pole not far to his right; and right under it was one of the pure white Companions that Valdemar was famous for. This particular one tossed his – her? – head when he caught Moonsage's gaze and gave him a horsey grin.

"We are still waiting for some people to arrive, so you are welcome to practice for a bit." Yelping at the voice coming from off to the side that he could have sworn was empty of people, Moonsage found himself face to face with someone he had never noticed until then. Though Washi, who had settled on a tree branch near the Companion, pointed out crossly that the other man had been there the whole time – how did Moonsage not notice him?

But before he had time to think about it any further the ball came soaring towards him, and almost unconsciously Moonsage brought his hands up to catch it before it thumped into his chest. The shock of the weight of the ball felt pleasant and he threw it gently on the ground before catching it again as it bounced back up – the way he had seen some of the others do it.

The afternoon passed in a whirl of ball passes, bounces – which they called dribbling, and amazing shoots into the goals. It was the most fun Moonsage had ever had in Valdemar. Even if none of the rest of them appreciated his puns any more than the Tayledras did. At least the Companion seemed to have enjoyed the carrot Moonsage had on him, though he (not a she apparently) had rolled his eyes with the others when Moonsage had come out with, "it seems you really _carrot_ a lot about carrots." It had been another good one too.


	7. Kise ni Kiss wo Surussu!

I asked myself what's the crackiest Izuki ship I could think of that still had some canon connection between the characters, this's what I got. I'm not gonna lie, I mostly wrote this for the title.

* * *

If Kise was asked how it all began, he would be hard-pressed to give an answer. He could list the progression of events up to the present moment, but how it all added up to him and Izuki going out was not something he could explain.

The first time Kise had a chance to talk to Izuki as something other than opponents on the court was during the basketball outing between the four schools. Kise fawning over Nigou – because Kuroko actually allowed that even though he never let Kise pay _him_ that much attention – somehow turned into Kise agreeing to visit Nigou with Izuki, who was in charge of looking after the dog the next weekend. Which then turned into Kise going dog treat-shopping with Izuki the weekend after _that_. And then shoe-shopping, because what else would two high schoolers crazy about basketball do together?

One way or another, the times the two of them spent together grew; until the dates they went on had nothing to do with the few things they had in common, and they would spend an entire day together doing things that had nothing to do with basketball or Nigou. More than once. That was about the time Kise realised something was up.

When Kise realised that he was actually finding the puns cute, and making plans for Christmas presents that involved the deluxe edition set of The History of Puns, he knew that was it.

Now if only Izuki would stop making puns about his name whenever they kiss.


	8. The Luxury of Ignorance

A continuation of the IzuKise fic, featuring the Japanese High School basketball circuit.

* * *

Most people in the high school basketball circuit would deny to their dying breaths that there was some kind of connection between them just because they've faced each other on the court. They all had their own circle of friends that rarely overlap, they never contacted each other for anything other than basketball, and they knew absolutely nothing about each other's' private lives. And then the Generation of Miracles happened.

For Takao, it had been a normal day of soul crushing basketball practice; even Midorima looked at peace for all that he had been cradling a Hello Kitty mini fan - which was hilariously more out of place than usual considering how cold it was getting. Absolutely no one had any idea of the chaos they would end up getting dragged into.

The first inkling of something amiss was during one of their rare breaks, when Midorima finally gave in to the incessant vibration of his phone.

"Takao, who is Izuki and why am I supposed to know him?"

"Izuki...? He's Seirin's Point Guard, how did you manage to not remember him considering how many videos we analysed?" Takao asked, half of his attention still on the ball he was playing with.

"Ah yes, that's right. I was just not expecting to hear of him in connection to Kise. I had thought the name was of someone on Kaijou's team; we've never gone up against Kaijou so I don't know the names of their team after all."

"And you expected me to know?" Takao's concentration suddenly zeroed in on Midorima once his brain processed the rest of his words. "Wait, why's Kise talking about Seirin's Izuki? To you?"

"I don't want to know," Midorima said huffily, closing the lid of his phone with a snap.

"No, no, let me see. Come on!" Takao said, grabbing Midorima's phone out of his fingers. "Holy shit, look at all these texts...what the hell am I reading."

Midorima simply sniffed, turning his attention to the ball Takao had dropped instead.

"I don't know where to begin. The fact that Kise of the Generation of Miracles is dating 'Eagle Eye' Izuki, the fact that he's texting you for love advice, or the fact that you don't seem surprised at all."

"I don't care what Kise gets up to. It has nothing to do with me."

"And yet he's asking you for love advice. Because he's dating a guy. From Seirin. Izuki Shun from Seirin. Who even does that?"

Miyaji snapping at them to get back to practice ended the conversation, and Midorima refused to discuss it anymore for the rest of the day. But it did result in the whole thing reaching the ears of the rest of the Shuutoku basketball team, who had a poll and decided that the most surprising thing was that Kise goes to Midorima for love advice, with dating someone from Seirin being second, and the fact that it was the Point Guard Izuki Shun coming a distant third.

"Wonder what Kise sees in a guy like him."

"He's kind of good looking, I guess."

"Does anyone know anything about him besides the fact that he's a Point Guard with an inferior version of Takao's trick?"

"Does it matter?"

"Wait! I think I remember something about him being a joker?"

"Seirin's Izuki Shun has a weird obsession with puns; I'm surprised you guys didn't know that."

"Seriously, what does Kise see in that guy?"

"No wonder he needs love advice."

"Do you think Midorima is secretly some kind of love guru that someone like Kise thinks he'd give good advice?"

"Maybe I should consult him about my girl troubles."

"Hah, you _wish_ you had girl troubles."

In hindsight, Takao had to admit it had all been great fun. Who would have guessed that Kise Ryouta and Izuki Shun dating would result in the great myth of Midorima Shintarou: Relationship Advisor?

* * *

"Dai-chan! Dai-chan, it's awful!" Momoi said as she pushed open the doors to the gym dramatically so that it crashed into the walls on either side.

The Touou basketball club, who had been doing drills and trying not to stare too hard at Aomine actually coming to practice, stopped what they were doing as one so they could gawk at Momoi instead.

"What, can't you see we're practicing?" Aomine replied, as if totally unaware of the irony of those words coming out of his mouth.

"I know, that's great, but you don't understand! Ki-chan needs our help!"

"If that guy needs my help, he can just come to me himself. What would Kise need help with anyway?"

"How can he when you forgot your phone again?" Momoi said, waving the aforementioned phone around wildly in her hand. "I had to keep it with me in case you lose it again."

"So? Did he ask for help?"

"Well, not exactly…but he obviously needs it if he's going to Midorin for love advice!"

"Seriously?!" Even someone like Aomine was shocked out of his apathy, the ball he had been twirling falling to the floor with a thump.

The rest of the basketball club gave up all pretence of practice so they could rubberneck instead, soft whispers breaking out in clusters as they discussed what this meant in regards to Midorima's status as 'most likely to be a virgin out of all of the Generation of Miracles'.

"Exactly! We need to do something, Dai-chan!"

"Okay, but what kind of advice does someone like Kise need? He finally finds a girl who's not into him?"

"Actually, he is dating Izuki-san from Seirin," Momoi said, a furrow creasing her brows as she spoke. "I don't know why that would make him go to Midorin of all people for advice though."

The crowd around them erupted as this new piece of information was received, not that it changed Kise's standing as 'most likely to have interest in guys out of all of the Generation of Miracles' in any way. Momoi, as if just realising the magnitude of letting the rest of the club hear everything, raised her hand to her mouth, stricken.

"Who?" Aomine, as usual, didn't seem to care what the rest of the club was doing; all of his attention was on Momoi.

"We fought them twice! How did you forget him? There are only five members on the court from each team, and he was starting player both times!" Distracted from her worries, Momoi settled into her usual mood of exasperated annoyance at Aomine.

"So he can't have been the guy Iron Heart replaced, besides Kagami and Kuroko that leaves…is he the glasses guy that Ryou got so pissed at?"

"No. That's the Captain, Hyuuga Junpei." Momoi levelled her best unimpressed look at Aomine, not that it ever had any effect.

"Whatever, so why does Kise need love advice from Midorima because of him? Is he also an astrology freak or something?"

"Er, Izuki-san's hobby is making puns actually," Momoi said reluctantly.

"Are you _sure_ he's gone to Midorima for advice? Kise isn't that stupid."

"Not anymore," Momoi said miserably, "but Midorin's texts to me seemed quite clear that Ki-chan's bugging him about his boyfriend for some reason, but if it's not for advice…"

Having gotten bored of the whole thing, Aomine turned back to his drills only to find that nobody else was concentrating basketball. Instead, the topic of discussion revolved around arguing about just who was Izuki Shun – beyond what they knew about him – that he would be dating someone like Kise Ryouta; the consensus being that there must be more to him than what's on the surface, that Kise would choose him over all the hot girls that swarmed him all the time.

This was the scene Coach Harazawa and Wakamatsu arrived back from their private meeting to find: Momoi arguing furiously on her phone with 'Midorin' while the rest of the club stood around debating over what possible advice someone like Midorima could give, and Aomine being the only person actually practicing.

* * *

There were many things Himuro found inexplicable about Japan; even when it came to his beloved basketball, the difference between Japan and America could be more than people might expect.

The fact that the third years retiring meant that the only starting players staying on was him – a recent returnee, Liu Wei the transfer student, and Murasakibara Atsushi – who was probably lacking more common sense than Liu and him combined – definitely didn't help.

Which was why Himuro found himself at a loss in how to deal with this. Frankly, the text Kagami had sent him was confusing enough on its own; something about one of the Generation of Miracles dating his sempai, and going to Midorima for advice was bad so they needed Murasakibara's help? To begin with, Himuro did not understand what they needed help with in the first place; or why they needed to go to Midorima or Murasakibara when, from what he had heard, Momoi would be more helpful if they absolutely needed someone who had been connected to the Generation of Miracles. Or even Kuroko, who was actually on the _same team_ as Kagami and this sempai.

But trying to explain this to Kagami just got him some more incomprehensible texts about somebody needing to stop Kise for his own good, and both Momoi and Kuroko agreeing that Murasakibara was the best bet. Himuro would never have thought that Kagami would get involved in trying to break up his sempai's relationship – though to be fair, the whole thing was confusing enough that it was anyone's guess what they were actually trying to accomplish – even if this Kise was going too far, or that Murasakibara would be the person to go to for this; but he respected Kuroko, and from what he heard of Momoi from Murasakibara, she was worthy of respect too.

And so Himuro found himeself standing in front of Murasakibara and trying to explain how he had heard from Kagami that Kuroko and Momoi needed Murasakibara to stop Kise from doing something, possibly to Midorima or possibly to Kagami's Point Guard sempai, or both.

Himuro had pre-emptively handed Murasakibara a bag of chips the moment he had pulled him aside for the talk, but seeing the deepening scowl on his face, Himuro prudently gave him another.

"Don't wanna," Murasakibara said, chomping down on the second bag of chips the moment it reached his hands. "Why are they coming to me anyway? Kise-chin listens to Kuro-chin more than he listens to me."

"I don't really get it myself, but your ex-teammates want your help, Atsushi."

"Then why did they go to you?"

"Probably because they knew you would not listen to them?" Himuro returned exasperatedly, passing Murasakibara a third bag of chips.

"Well, I'm not gonna listen even if Muro-chin tells me to," Murasakibara exclaimed, moving back towards the rest of the club without a care for how loud his voice was. "I don't care who Kise-chin is dating or why he needs to be stopped. Who's Izuki anyway, and what does it have to do with me?"

Himuro winced as the Yousen basketball club broke out into loud chatter over Murasakibara's words. He wasn't sure how well people took the idea of homosexuality in Japan, but it was kind of a relief to hear that most of the discussion was around why Kise was dating Izuki specifically and not why either of them was dating a man – apparently, it wasn't a surprise that Kise wasn't completely straight. Himuro wanted to know himself, from what he knew of Izuki Shun he couldn't quite see why he was dating Kise either.

"Izuki is Seirin's Point Guard, we did go up against them recently, you know."

"Don't remember him, don't care."

"Yes, I know you don't. But apparently Kise was asking Midorima for love advice because of all this? From what you told me of the Generation of Miracles, it sounds quite serious that he would go that far."

Around him, more conversation broke out at this new revelation, one particularly loud proclamation mentioning how Midorima was apparently some kind of special authority on romance, lots of people mentioned it, it's _true_!

Seeing Murasakibara shocked out of his usual apathy so much that he actually dropped his snacks on the ground did kind of made the whole ordeal worth it. Even if they all got in a lot of trouble with Coach Araki for practice getting disrupted.

* * *

There was no such thing as a united high school basketball circuit; no matter how well they knew each other on the court, gossip off the court hardly ever made full rounds. Which was why Mibuchi had only just heard of the absolutely fascinating news between Kise Ryouta of the Generation of Miracles and Izuki Shun of Seirin's basketball club that was just starting to make its way through the Rakuzan basketball club.

The one recurring theme from what he had heard was why on earth someone like Kise Ryouta would be dating someone like Izuki Shun. Putting aside the fact that both of them were men, Kise was a model who was surrounded by hot people on all sides and knew just how good-looking he was; meanwhile, Izuki had a pretty face but cared more about puns than anything else except basketball.

Thus Mibuchi had decided to go to Akashi, who must have known Kise well from being his Captain, and see what kind of gossip he might be able to get straight from the source. Akashi's response wasn't what he had been expecting though.

"So it has spread this far, has it? No wonder Atsushi called me." Akashi's tone was the same as it always was, but his eyes sparkled with a rare kind of amusement and…was that mischief?

"Murasakibara-kun called you? Because Kise-kun is dating Izuki-kun? I'm not sure I understand."

"It was rather unclear; Atsushi himself can be imprecise at the best of times, and the whole matter went through a lot of twists and turns, I gather. It all comes down to the fact that ultimately Ryouta's still quite immature."

"I…see," Mibuchi said, more because he felt that Akashi required a response than because he actually understood what he was talking about.

"Nevertheless, Ryouta is a part of Kaijou now, and it's Kaijou who should be dealing with him. I have made it quite clear to Satsuki and Tetsuya that if they really wanted to do something about it – though it is way too late by now if it has even reached Kyoto – then they should make Kaijou deal with him as is right and proper." Akashi's words might have seemed more menacing if his eyes were not still sparkling with amusement at the whole thing.

Mibuchi wasn't sure why the Generation of Miracles ex-manager and ex-sixth man were suddenly entering the conversation, but by this point he had resigned himself to the fact that maybe the truth was even weirder than the rumours he had heard. Which bears asking, "So Kise-kun and Izuki-kun really are dating?"

"Oh yes. It is not that surprising. Seirin's Izuki Shun is the kind of person Ryouta will go for, someone kind and willing to put up with his pushiness; and Ryouta is the kind of person who will not care about what kind of interests a person may have as long as he respects them and they are willing to mind him."

"I'll take your word for it, I suppose. All I know about Izuki-kun, besides his basketball, is his puns after all. But still, that is enough for them to be dating?"

"Neither of them are romantics and overly concerned with what love should be like. Nor is this matter as big a deal for them as it seems to be for everyone else," Akashi said dismissively, his tone dry. It was obvious he had tired of the preoccupation over this.

"So does this mean that the rumour about Midorima-kun being some kind of expert on love is true as well?" Mibuchi couldn't help but add; today had been full of surprises after all. Though watching Akashi's too-blank face, he suddenly wasn't so sure he should have said that.

"Please excuse me a moment, Reo," Akashi said tonelessly, gliding inside the storeroom of the clubhouse and shutting the door behind him with a click.

Mibuchi rushed to press his ear to the door as soon as it had closed, just in time to hear Akashi's muffled shrieks of laughter. Faintly, he could hear the words 'love expert' and 'Shintarou' mixed in with the laughter. Was the idea really that unbelievable?

* * *

It was an unusually sober Riko that arrived at practice long after it started; one look at her face told everyone clearly that something was up, and the most surprising thing about her calling Izuki aside to talk to was the fact that Izuki wasn't usually someone who caused trouble.

"Izuki-kun, I heard something from my dad today. He's been hearing talk of a lot of disrupted practices from his friends that coach high school basketball teams. And the source is apparently a rumour about you dating Kise Ryouta from Kaijou?" Riko paused to take in the colour draining from Izuki's face before continuing, "From your expression, I'm guessing that's true. It is not a big deal at the moment, no one has come to us officially to complain or anything like that; Takeda-sensei hasn't heard anything either. But maybe you will want to talk to Kise-kun about this? Since it seems to be common knowledge among a lot of people by now."

"About that, actually Akashi-kun has already talked to Kise-kun about this."

"KUROKO! When did you get here?"

"And how do you know about this? Why is Akashi involved?"

"It was Momoi-san who brought it to my attention in the beginning; Kise-kun had been bugging Midorima-kun about his relationship with Izuki-sempai, and that somehow caused the relationship to be exposed to the whole club. Which then reached the ears of Momoi-san, as these things do. She wanted me to stop Kise-kun and his indiscretions before the whole thing became an even bigger deal, but I was unable to dissuade Kise-kun from his actions. We decided to turn to Akashi-kun, who we felt was the only one capable of stopping Kise-kun; but in doing so we seemed to have caused to rumours to spread further-"

"This was all because you said we needed Murasakibara to tell Akashi! Why couldn't you have just gone to him yourself?" Kagami interjected suddenly, making Riko aware that the entire basketball club was now clustered around them, listening.

"As I was saying, Murasakibara-kun was the only one besides Midorima-kun who had a chance of getting Akashi-kun to deal with something he would find trivial. Akashi-kun has talked with Kise-kun and I believe he has stopped. Though it seems it is already too late," Kuroko said, looking slightly chagrined.

"Oh, is this about Izuki dating Kise Ryouta? I heard about it from Mibuchi. Since it's out now, congratulations, Izuki! He's a really good basketball player," Kiyoshi said casually, his usual smile on his face.

"I can't even tell which part I should comment on first! I can't believe you've stayed in touch with Mibuchi Reo! I can't believe I'm apparently the only one who didn't know Izuki was _dating_!" Hyuuga said, mystified.

"I'm sorry everyone, that you had to find out like this. We had no plans of keeping it a secret, and Ryouta has already met my parents, but…I just couldn't find the right words to tell everyone. I'm so sorry you guys didn't end up hearing it from me." Izuki bowed low as he spoke, contriteness in his every word.

"Shut up, idiot," Hyuuga said, scowling embarrassedly, "you've got no obligation to tell us anything. And it's Kise who should be apologising; you might not want it to be a secret, but I'm sure you didn't want it to be made into such a big deal. What the hell is that guy thinking anyway?"

"Don't worry, Izuki, we're all okay with it," Tsuchida said soothingly.

"Yeah, Mitobe says that too," Koganei cut in, "but what a waste! Two people so popular with women, dating each other, how does that make the rest of us feel?"

"Wait a minute, Koganei-sempai, doesn't this mean there's less competition now? Since both Izuki-sempai and Kise are now taken," Furihata pointed out.

"And you can always go to Midorima for help!" Kawahara chimed in.

"I heard that he's like the authority on relationships!" Fukuda added helpfully.

Kuroko's reaction to that was unfortunately lost in the furore of the Seirin basketball club clapping Izuki on the back for landing such a good catch, that's more than any of us can ever manage, good on you man. Watching them, Riko felt a smile grow on her face. They were good people, all of them, even if Kuroko and Kagami seemed to have been the ones who made the whole mess a lot more complicated than it needed to be.

* * *

Kise had just wanted to brag to Midorima about his hot Point Guard boyfriend (hint hint, nudge nudge). He totally didn't mean for the whole thing to blow up the way it did. How was he supposed to know this would happen anyway?

Also, it was Kasamatsu-sempai's own choice to come out of retirement just to punish him; it wasn't like Kise wanted him to. It wasn't fair to blame it all on him! He was the victim here!

It was a good thing Izuki liked him so much.

It was a good thing Izuki still liked him so much.


	9. What She Couldn't Do

Riko knew what she and Hyuuga looked like to the rest of the world. But the truth wasn t so pure.

She d no right to be jealous of Izuki, and it was unfair of her to feel this way, she knew that. But it was Izuki who stood on the court with Hyuuga all through middle school and now high school. It was Izuki who stayed by Hyuuga s side and supported him when he had given up and she had turned away. It was Izuki, in the end, who had brought all of them together.

How could she not be jealous?

* * *

This was something I've thought about for a long time, but it was difficult for me to really conceptualise it.

Riko's not jealous of who Izuki is or what he is to Hyuuga, she doesn't think Hyuuga likes him or anything; just that I feel like Riko is frustrated over how helpless she felt in unable to do anything for Hyuuga when he gave up, it's the comparison of his actions and hers during that time. It was really Kiyoshi who brought everyone together, but it was Izuki who introduced her to him.


End file.
